2.4 Railroads

RTW airline tickets will get you in and out of Europe, but are not very
useful for getting around in Europe. This is where Eurail tickets, or
passes for specific countries, are useful. They must be started within six
months of purchase. This is not meant to imply that Europe is the only
place that has rail passes.

"Fact: Anyone can purchase Eurail passes at EurAid stations inside
Europe. I bought mine at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. There is a US$20
surcharge. Technically, it is like re-issuing a lost ticket, hence the
surcharge." <Alan Nelson>

"Eurail prices are fixed once a year as far as I can tell, and depending
entirely upon what the exchange rates do in the meantime, it can in fact be
cheaper to buy one in Europe with the penalty than at home. I did this twice.
Of course, it might also be all the more expensive if the exchange rates change
the other way." <Bernd Wechner>

"I don't think that most people can really get their money out
of a Eurail pass on an RTW trip. If you are over 26, you have to get
the First Class pass, very expensive. It will pay off if you are on the
grand tour, going from Berlin to Koln to Paris to Madrid to Barcelona,
on a near-daily basis. Several years ago when I looked at a rail pass,
the price was close to US$1000 for a three-month pass (I was 27 at the
time). During that three months I spent less than US$250 on rail tickets
in Italy because I didn't do these long haul overnight train trips. At
no time during my 8 months in Europe could I have made the rail pass pay
off. This is my experience, based on the way that I travel, and your
mileage may vary. I think that most people that I met with rail passes
seemed to think they usually didn't really pay off and if so, paid off
marginally. They seemed to have this pressure on them, 'I spent X
dollars on this pass, I have to get my money's worth and use it.'
Most people resisted that pressure and took their time." <Mr.
Moose>

Books

"Australia by Rail" by C. Taylor

"Camp Europe by Train" by L. Baken

"Eastern Europe by Rail" by R. Dodson

"Eurail and Train Travel Guide to Europe" published by Houghton Miflfin Co.

"Eurail Guide" by Kathryn Saltzmann Turpin and Marvin Saltzmann

"Europe by Eurail" by G. Ferguson

"Europe by Rail: On the Rails Around Europe"

"Europe by Rail: On the Rails Around France"

"Europe by Rail: On the Rails Around the Alps"

"Europe by Rail: On the Rails Around Britian & Ireland"

"Europe by Rail: On the Rails Around Eastern Europe"

"Europe by Train" by K. Wood

"India by Rail" by R. Ellis

"Rail Ventures: The Comprehensive Guide to Train Travel in
North America" by J. Swanson